Mops are floor cleaning implements which include a cleaning element, attached to an elongate handle, that contacts the floor during cleaning and that absorbs (and expels) liquid. Liquid remaining on the floor after mopping can be hazardous and also can reduce the attained cleanliness of the floor. As a result, many mop designs have been aimed at drying a floor surface after cleaning.
Some mops include absorbent sponges which act to absorb liquid remaining on the floor during the cleaning. Such designs have proved unsatisfactory in the level of dryness achieved. Wiping implements, such as those including squeegees attached to the end of a handle, also have been known to be used to wipe an area including liquid and then to separately use a mop including an absorption sponge for drying. Using two separate implements (mop and wiping), however, can be cumbersome. In addition, unless the mop and wiping implement are designed for complementary use, the level of dryness achieved often is unsatisfactory.
Prior art cleaning implements including both a wiping element (squeegee) and a sponge are known. To date, none of such dual element implements has proven to achieve satisfactory cleaning and drying while also being ergonomically easy to use. Some dual element implements include a squeegee and a sponge attached to different sides of the implement's handle, requiring the user to reverse the orientation of the implement to switch from using the sponge to using the squeegee and visa versa.
An example of a prior art cleaning implement including both a wiping element and cleaning element is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,469,594 to Nolte. The cleaning implement described in Nolte includes a cleaning cloth and a scrapping element located on the same side, and attached to the distal end, of a handle. While the implement disclosed enables both cleaning and wiping without requiring a user to reverse the orientation of the implement, the implement suffers from a number of drawbacks. First, the Nolte implement is not well-suited for floor use due to the relative positions of the cleaning cloth, wiping element, and handle. It is designed specifically for cleaning vertically oriented surfaces, such as windows. Because the handle extends almost parallel to the bottom cleaning surface of the cloth, and because of the angle at which the wiping element extends from the implement, from an ergonomic standpoint, it would be extremely difficult to use the implement to clean floors. Additionally, due to the use of a cloth cleaning element having poor absorption capacity, and due also to the relative positions and spacing between the front of the cloth and the wiping element resulting in a limited wicking action, poor absorption by the cloth of the liquid being wiped results, leaving the floor wet after cleaning. The Nolte implement, because it is designed for cleaning a vertically oriented surface, relies in part on gravity for the liquid being wiped to reach and be absorbed by the cloth. It would be ergonomically difficult to use to clean a floor and would perform in an unsatisfactory manner.
In addition, to Applicant's knowledge, none of the prior art cleaning implements including both a wiping element and cleaning element, also includes a mechanism by which the cleaning element (i.e., sponge) may be wrung out.